The Authentic Alsatian Baeckaoffe Recipe

Baeckaoffe is a traditional Alsatian dish, full of rich flavors, made with marinated meats, potatoes, and onions, and slowly cooked in an earthenware dish. Here’s the traditional recipe.

Ingredients (for 6 people):

• 1 kg of potatoes (Charlotte, Bintje, Roseval, Chieftain, Red Chieftain…)
• 400 g pork shoulder cut into 4 cm cubes
• 400 g lamb shoulder cut into 4 cm cubes
• 400 g beef (chuck) cut into 4 cm cubes
• 3 onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 leeks
• 1 carrot
• 1 bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaf, parsley)
• 50 cl of dry white wine from Alsace, preferably dry Riesling
• 10 cl of chicken stock or water
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 juniper berries
• 2 tablespoons of duck fat (or butter)
• 1 earthenware dish (or oven-safe casserole)

Preparation and service (over 3 days):

1. Marinate the meats (two days in advance)

• In a large bowl, place the meat cubes. Add the sliced onions, leeks, carrot, minced garlic, cloves, juniper berries, and bouquet garni.
• Pour the white wine over the mixture, season with salt and pepper, and mix well.
• Let it marinate in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.

2. Cooking (one day in advance)

• Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F).
• Peel and slice the potatoes into thin rounds.
• Generously grease the bottom of the dish with duck fat.
• Lay a layer of potatoes at the bottom, lightly salt.
• Add a layer of marinated meat along with some of the vegetables from the marinade.
• Alternate layers of potatoes and meat until all ingredients are used up.
• Pour the wine from the marinade into the dish, along with the stock to slightly cover everything.
• Place the lid on the dish.

3. Sealing the lid ("luter")

Sealing ("luter") the lid is a traditional technique used to hermetically close the dish during cooking. This helps retain moisture and flavors inside, allowing for slow, even cooking.

Ingredients for the seal:

• 200 g of flour
• 10 cl of water

Steps to seal the lid:

• Prepare the dough: Mix the flour with some water to make a flexible, sticky dough. Roll it into a long strip about 1 cm thick.
• Apply the dough: Place this strip around the rim of the dish where the lid will rest.
• Place the lid: Press the lid down on the dough to seal the dish tightly.

4. Cooking

• Bake the sealed dish at low heat for approximately 3 hours. The meat should be tender and the potatoes fully infused with the flavors.
• During cooking, the dough will harden and create an airtight seal.

5. On the day of serving

• Reheat the dish on low heat.
• Break the seal carefully before serving by cracking the hardened dough around the lid.

  The dough is not edible; its purpose is purely to retain the steam inside the dish.

• Serve directly from the dish, piping hot.